Crafting User-Friendly & Reader-Friendly Content

What makes an article user-friendly and reader-friendly?  Let’s start with user friendly.  This is in reference to SEO (how the search engines crawl and index your content), as well as navigational design.  Search engines prefer articles with text, and only a minimal amount of graphics and special animation, as these are not searchable materials.  Search engines also reward websites that feature appropriately key-worded page titles, URL names, subheadings and content.

When it comes to human users, you must aim to write reader-friendly content, meaning you want informative writing, interesting content and relevant subject matter.  For that matter, users like catchy headlines, and list-type articles that are easy to read and which move directly to the main points.  Audiences do tend to respond to simplicity, as well as articles that are spaced out, and separated by subheadings.  It also helps to insert a few (but not a lot) of pictures in relevant places, as long as they make a point.  (And they always say a picture is worth a thousand words…so adhering to this principle should help you avoid over using icons or photos)

In general, when writing for humans and search bots, aim to make smaller paragraphs and use bullets or numbers when possible, since these actually alert search engines that special list content is available.  Remember not to crowd too much information into one page.  Keep pages shorter, rather than longer, as you can always add more pages, provided there is enough content to make them necessary.

Try to use appropriate HTML when formatting your pages, which means the title tag, the subheadings (h1-h6) tags and the META content.  It is also wise to use hyperlinks, as these can direct search engines to and all through your site.  When making links, be sure that the anchor text is relevant, as search engines are smart enough to pick up on this as well.

It’s important to remember that all search engine algorithms are designed to simulate human intelligence.  Google and Yahoo have figured out a way to discern what is readable from what is clearly SPAM or content farm material.  Therefore, although you should mind SEO etiquette, focus more on creating human-quality articles, and for that matter, articles for educated minds.

Remember that people are looking for content that gives what they want, tells them what they want to know, and uses repetition within reason.  If you keep in mind the human factor (as well as the techniques to make articles appear shorter and “easier” to read) you will have no problem communicating with a modern audience.